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Overview

The Elf on the Shelf®: A Christmas Tradition  Each Christmas, Santa uses his scout elves to help him manage his naughty and nice lists. When the elves visit at Christmastime, their job is to watch during the day and report to Santa every night. When the elves return from their nightly North Pole journey, they hide in a new spot and wait for you to find them!Box set includes: - A beautifully illustrated hardbound children's book- One of Santa's special scout elves - This Elf on the Shelf® set includes book and boy scout elf with light skin and blue eyes.

Videos

The Elf on the Shelf®- A Christmas Tradition Broadcast Spot

Editorial Reviews

Every year, Santa sends a scout elf to each home to report on whether its little boys and girls have been naughty or nice. With this tradition-in-a-box activity kit, families will be able to search each day for Santa's secret helper. A game that builds anticipation for Christmas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

The Elf on the Shelf (Light Skinned - Boy) 3.9 out of 5based on
0 ratings.
392 reviews.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

What a brilliant concept!! My nephew is 4 and is totally enamored of the elf, and has been on amazingly good behavior since discovering him. My sister gives me elf updates each day, which I can't wait to hear. What a super holiday tradition!

bookholiday

More than 1 year ago

I bought a lot of books for my children this past week, and the elf on the shelf was one of them. It's good book. would recommend

korak

More than 1 year ago

When I was a little boy in the 1960's, my best friend and I used to love to play with these Christmas decorator figurines-- we called them "Pixies." For years I have looked and looked to find a "pixie" to have at Christmas like the ones we had as kids. We found them cheap at the fabric store, drugstore, etc, around Christmas time. When I saw this figurine in B&N, I went wild! Obviously the author has based this figure exactly on those 1960's elf/pixie figurines we used to play with. It is exactly the same. But I had to get the one with the expensive book though-- the stuffed ones are not exactly like them, just this book edition figure. 30 dollars is a lot to pay for a Pixie that I used to get for less than a dollar, but it was worth it- I had to get it.

BettyMaddox

More than 1 year ago

Here is what I heard from my daughter after it arrived
"The Elf on the Shelf came, and it is a huge hit. We have moved him each night, and every morning the kids are so excited to see where he is in the house. It helps to get them moving on school days - an added bonus. Plus we have convinced the kids that he sometimes winks at them when they do something good. They have named him "Silverado" (Max wanted Silver, and we thought this would be a bit more interesting). Thank you for a wonderful gift!!"

katpauz

More than 1 year ago

We purchased this by recommendation from a friend and it helped us get through the Christmas season and was a wonderful read. The kids (5,4,3) remembered things from the book and asked questions for weeks and I was able to put a faith based concept into the story line with no problem. I would recommend this to anyone who would also like help in the behavior area as well.

cloverleaf12

More than 1 year ago

A LONG LASTING TRADITION....I attended a X-mas party for moms in early Dec 2009 and they were all raving about "Elf on a Shelf" and their experiences. I had never heard of Elf on a Shelf before but it sounded adorable (plus, I could use the extra help of an elf during the holidays!!!). When the elf arrived in the mail, I was surprised at how life-like the elf is! We read the storybook that night and the next day my daughter (she is 3) happily searched for "Jackie the Elf" (its what she decided to name him). Each morning since Jackie arrived at our home, my daughter has fun finding him. Along with providing daily fun, Jackie has also helped me with discipline. When my daughter acts out or disobeys, all I have to do is talk to Jackie and she knows he is going to go back to Santa that night and report it if she misbehaves. Jackie gives us the chance to talk about her behavior for the day and she tells me herself if she thinks she is on Santa's NICE list or NAUGHTY list each day.
The moms at the party spoke fondly of their "Elf on a Shelf" experiences and even though this has been my first year of daily elf visits, I can tell that this is a family tradition that will last. The price is kind of high, in my opinion, but the tradition is now set and worth the money in the long run. I would HIGHLY recommend it. My brother and his wife just had a baby and I wish I had thought to give this to them as one of their gifts for X-mas!!!

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

This book is great for Christmas! When children read this book about Santa's little Elf, it shows them the true meaning of being Naughty and Nice. This will definitely have children appreciate everything about Christmas with this book. My neice loves this book and begs her mother to read it to her every night.

islanddog

More than 1 year ago

Our whole family loves this! Our Elf, Buddy, even hides from me! (Mom)...Our daughters (7 and 10) excitedly tell their friends about Buddy and his latest hiding spots. Wish I would have thought of this!!!

3939JT

More than 1 year ago

My review is a review of the people complaining about the elf. This shows that there is always negative people that will complain about anything. Complaining that this elf is not good because it doesnt have feet or that your child was scared says nothing about the Elf but everything about You. Come on Really?

wonderlland

More than 1 year ago

My soon to be 3 year old would wake up every morning to see where her Elf would be. Brings the whole Santa thing to the child everyday, with something concrete that they can see and in doing so keeps them behaving. Adds that special magical Christmas spirit to us as well. I would highly recommend this as another tradition that can be started to be remembered fondly in years to come.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

I gave a copy of The Elf on the Shelf to my sister-in-law and her children (8, 5, and 2) ate-it-up. They absolutely loved it. Nearly every day I heard stories about where their elf---"Zigs" was hiding. They were amazed their elf could actually fly to Santa and give him updates. It was so cute and it made all of us believe again...

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

Was entertaining to my grandchildren and keep them looking to see where the elf was. I do recommend this fun activity.

Lauren45

More than 1 year ago

My mom bought this for me and my brother. My elf Benji is the cutest elf ever! I love how you have to find him. You can also tell your elf what you want for Christmas! My elf Benji is so magical and I love him. I believe everyone should own a scout elf because they're magical.

NorCal_Momma

More than 1 year ago

My kids (now 9, 7, 5, and 3) have been enjoying this family tradition for many years and I can't begin to say how cute it is watching them race through the house every morning to find our elf, Jerry. If your kids are freaked out by the elf, it's understandable why you wouldn't participate in the tradition. However, for everyone else who is reading too much into the book, what the elf looks like, or the message that this sends, just remember what it was like to be a kid and try to have a little fun. You won't regret it!

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

This is our first year with our Elf on the Shelf, and other than trying to remember to make sure he moved, we've loved every minute of it. The kids have a great time trying to find him, and the magical little guy has brought loads of fun to our home this season!

mmje

More than 1 year ago

Love it and my kids are anxious to see where he'll be each morning! There is only one thing that doesn't really pertain to the Elf himself. I chose to order the Elf from online because it said that it would be delivered as a "special delivery" from the North Pole. I addressed it to my children and when it was delivered, nothing noted about "special delivery". If I had known this, I would have gone down to the local store and bought it. BUT the whole concept of the Elf is absolutely a big hit in this house!

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

My six year old grandson, who is in 1st grade, led me to this delightful book. One of his classmates shared it with the class during the Christmas holidays and my grandson ask if I would get one for him. He was so thrilled to receive the book Elf on a Shelf and Activity Book. This was the beginning of a new Christmas tradition at my grandson's home, and after naming the Elf, he is visible each day of the year, which isn't all bad either. Very much recommend.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

We purchased this after hearing several friends and family rave about how much fun their children had with their new elf. We have 4 children under the age of 9 and they had a wonderful time searching for our elf "Jack" each morning, and my husband and I had fun finding new and creative hinding places for Jack each night. It was nice to be able to remind the children that Jack was watching and that he would be reporting to Santa that night so they should be on their best behavior. Our elf and storybook came in a great collector box that should keep Jack and his story nice. We can't wait for Jack to come back next December and think this will be a family tradtion for many years to come.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

PERFECT BOOK FOR A CHILD TRYING TO GRASP THE SANTA CONCEPT

Book_Savvy_Dad

More than 1 year ago

My son really liked the Elf on a Shelf. It is a new feature for our family Christmas.

Doeskin

More than 1 year ago

Excellent for young children. Reminds them we DO celebrate Christmas.

Flanders

More than 1 year ago

My Daughter and family love The Elf on The Shelf:) My daughter was only 16 months old for Christmas so she was a little to young to really get the idea, but it is something we will love as a family next year and for years to come. I plan to carry the tradition on for my daughters lifetime and then pass it along to her children. We showed it to all our friends and family and they just loved it and planned to get one too:)

Liser

More than 1 year ago

This is such a sweet way to get children involved in the joys of Christmas. I gave one of these to each of my sisters for their children, one to our household, and one to my son's kindergarten class so they would have something fun to focus on before the start of their school day. My son's teacher told me the kids had a great time with naming their elf and finding him each morning.

BranBranMB

More than 1 year ago

Words cannot describe how wonderful "Elf on the shelf" is. This was our first year, and my 6 year old son instantly fell in love! He and his little brother would search for "Tinsel" first thing every morning. We were all sad to see "Tinsel" head back to the "North Pole", but are looking forward to seeing him next Christmas!I recommend this to anyone and everyone with children. It is truly a great family tradition. The best part was listening while my children tried to pick out a name for our new friend.

serviceKP

More than 1 year ago

I lucked out and our store had the Shelf on the Elf Activty Book, too.

This was made for homes, but I plan to put it up in my Sunday School Classrooom where there are many hispanic children, and share the story which reinforces concienciousness. Of course, I'll add we should always behave as if God himself knows as what we do always matters. Then, before my preschool class, there's a couple of hours where a group gravitates to my room to play, and I'm going to let them work on the Activity Book.

I try to keep Sunday School guidance informal before their specific class at noon, so that they can feel free about down to earth devotionals, talking about real things now, and associate Church with a joyous gathering as it should be. This gives them much more time for interactive conversation and play.

I keep an eye out for things like this that may help me be a better Sunday School teacher.